
When you open Wireshark, it will scan for all available networks. This guide will use the Windows version of Wireshark, release 2.6.2. For Debian and Ubuntu owners, you can get the program from the system repository. If you have Kali Linux, you already have Wireshark built into the operating system. You will have to reboot in order to complete the installation. Clicking on the downloaded file will get Wireshark installed on your computer. Click on the Download button in the main page of the site to get to the Download page.Ĭlick on the version that is suitable for your operating system to get the installer. The code for Windows and Macs is available at the Wireshark website. Wireshark is available for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Unix.

If you are the network manager, however, you will be very pleased with the information that you get out of this free tool. The reputation of Wireshark is such that you shouldn’t attempt to use it on your workplace network without permission from the network manager. This tool’s competence is so widely admired that it has become a commonly used tool for hackers. To do this, click View > Name Resolution and select “Resolve Network Addresses.Wireshark is a very effective and thorough packet analyzer that is particularly useful for capturing wireless network traffic. The details of the highlighted packet are displayed in the two lower panes in the Wireshark interface.Ī simple way to make reading the trace easier is to have Wireshark provide meaningful names for the source and destination IP addresses of the packets.

The packets are presented in time order, and color coded according to the protocol of the packet. If Wireshark isn’t capturing packets, this icon will be gray.Ĭlicking the red square icon will stop the data capture so you can analyze the packets captured in the trace. This gives you the opportunity to save or discard the captured packets, and restart the trace.
